Choices Unmade
by Qwerty616120
Summary: "When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice." Parallel universes are created through choices. But when the doctor accidentally undoes the choice that created Rose's new universe, what will the results be? (Short five-chapter ficlet, starring Mickey, Martha, Pete, Jackie, and Ten. Reunion!Fic Ten/Rose) COMPLETE
1. The Boy Playing Kick

_**When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice. ~William James**_

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

There is a time when people get tired beating around the bush and making guesses and assumptions. At these times, people tend to want to hear what's going on straight out with no fuss and mess, just plain, simple truth.

For Martha, this was one of those times.

"No, no, too much to do, let's keep going," babbled her companion, ushering her past the chip store.

"Doctor, I'm hungry," Martha snapped, on edge from her recent world-saving experience and more than a little tired. "This place is cheap, they've got good chips, and we can catch our breath. Why not?"

"Martha Jones, it's a potato. If you want to eat, that's fine, but let's find somewhere else," he said, looking around for another shop. "Oh! Look at that! A veggie store! Let's pop in for a salad! Love a good salad, me. Once, I was with the King of-"

"You hate salads," Martha said flatly. The tall man next to her froze, as if he hadn't expected her to call his bluff.

"Well, who said I was going to eat?" The Doctor said finally, sticking his hands deep into his pockets. "You should though, you're right. Humans and their silly tolerance on vegetables," he continued, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Potatoes are vegetables," the dark-skinned woman pointed out with a roll of her eyes. The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but then froze, one finger raised in the air as if to make an excellent point he had yet to think of. "Look, Doctor, I'm just gonna be a minute. You can come with me or stay out here, but I'm gettin' some chips." With that, the med student turned on her heel and stalked over to the chip shop with the aurora of someone who couldn't be stopped and was done listening to nonsense.

After a pause, she heard the Doctor's footsteps behind her. _Bloody alien, _Martha harped mentally, although she was secretly pleased that he was coming with her.

After ordering her chips, Martha found her way to a picnic table just outside the little shop. Sitting down, she took in the view of the park just across the road and pulled her coat tighter around her to block out the biting wind. The Doctor sat down across from her, following her gaze to the grassy park.

"Want one?" Martha offered after a moment, as way of apology for snapping at him earlier. The Doctor cast a look at the chip basket, but shook his head.

"No thanks," he said with cheerfulness that seemed a little forced. "Who needs chips, eh?"

"Suit yourself," Martha shrugged, popping the finger food into her mouth. "You been here before?" She continued around her mouthful of potato.

"Once or twice," he replied in a clipped voice that Martha had learned to recognize. It was his "don't-ask-this-has-to-do-with-my-painful-mysterious-past" voice. _What on earth could be painful about a chip shop? _Martha wondered, completely baffled.

"Recently?" She pushed, deciding that this time she wasn't going to let him hide behind brief answers. It was a little restaurant, for goodness sakes! _Of all things, he can definitely talk to me about this, _she decided firmly, waiting for his answer.

"I'm a time traveler, Martha. 'Recent' is a hard term to define," he said evasively, dodging the question with ease that didn't escape his companion.

"Within the last eight months?" She pressed, and the Doctor shifted uneasily. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then." The Doctor looked away, but didn't argue. "Alone, or with friends?"

"You almost done?" He asked as if he hadn't heard her. Martha looked pointedly at her mostly-full chip basket by way of answer. "Right, then. Hurry up. We've got places to go, people to meet, planets to save," he said brightly, still in a tone the med student thought sounded forced.

_Why does he hate this little shop so much? _She wondered, beginning to feel frustrated. _He all but admitted he'd been here within the last year. And dodging a simple question about company? Honestly! _At the thought of company, Martha froze.

"You were here within the last year," She said slowly, vocalizing her thoughts as if to help herself think through a particularly difficult problem. The Doctor, on the other hand, looked uneasy, as if she was getting closer to a deep secret he didn't feel like revealing.

"Doctor, did you come here with Rose?" Martha asked, looking him right in the eye and hoping he'd say no.

He didn't say no. Instead, he sighed and said, "It was her favorite place to eat. She loved chips…" He trailed off, a nostalgic look on his face.

"Oh," his companion said, pushing the chip basket away from her as if she'd swallowed something bitter. "Right." Suddenly she wished she hadn't asked. She knew how he was; once she'd opened the floodgates, there was no stopping the memories he'd relive, at least in his mind, right in front of her.

"That was our first date," he grinned, not looking at her but instead out over the park, lost in memories like a child lost in a candy store.

"Sorry?" Martha asked, their roles reversed. Suddenly _he _was the happy one and _she _was the uneasy one.

"Chips," he clarified, looking back at her. "We went out for chips."

"'Course you did," Martha said, unable to keep the hint of bitterness out of her voice. She'd long suspected the Doctor's feelings for Rose, but no girl wants to hear about her crush's old dates, and Martha was no exception. So what she blurted out next surprised her as much as him- she hadn't meant to ask. Didn't even want to know, really. And yet she did.

"What happened to her? Rose, I mean."

"Sorry?" He asked, raising both eyebrows in surprise as Martha yanked him off memory lane and back to reality.

"What happened to Rose? You've told me she's alive and in some other universe, yeah, but what _happened _to her? Did she just pick up and leave?"

The Doctor's eyes darkened at the question, but for once he didn't avoid the inquiry.

"She didn't want to leave. She just couldn't come back," he said, the cheerful happiness gone from his voice and replaced by some other emotion Martha couldn't quite name (or didn't want to).

"What happened?" She pressed, hating herself with the words but needing to know what had separated the Doctor and the famous Rose Tyler.

"The Battle of Canary Warf happened," he told her bitterly. "She was sucked into a parallel universe. If I could have gotten her, I would have. But both universes would have collapsed. Everyone would have died," he finished softly, staring at his hands and, for the first time since Martha had met him, sounding defeated. "I tried everything. It was just… impossible."

"You said she got sucked into a parallel universe," the med student began uncertainly. "I thought that was just a myth from movies and stuff. They don't _really _exist, do they?"

"'Course they do," the Doctor scoffed. Martha couldn't help but wonder if she imagined the relief in the Doctor's voice, to turn from himself to the facts, or if it was really there.

"Right, sorry," the med student said in slight irritation. Excuse her for not knowing as much as a 900-something alien!

"Every choice you make creates an alternate universe," he continued, speaking as if Martha hadn't said a word. "For example," he said, turning to a boy playing in the park. "That boy is playing kick, yeah? Well, if I don't do anything, he'll miss the ball and won't kick it. But if I take that choice away…" As he finished talking, he stood up and yelled, "HEY!" Across the street to the little boy. Startled, the boy missed the ball and it rolled past him into a small pond. The Doctor then sat down as if nothing had happened.

"Because he didn't get to kick that ball, he never made that choice. Some parallel universe just ceased to exist," he finished his explanation with a nod, as if agreeing with his own logic.

"What?" Martha, on the other hand, was horrified. "They just… vanished? Gone like that?"

"Yup," The Doctor said, popping the 'p'. Then he paused, thinking. "Well… not exactly. I just yelled at him, right? That was a choice. Besides, if he had had the choice, he would have missed the ball anyway. So it's more likely the universe was just altered. Like a game resetting itself, or something." He seemed proud of his comparison, and looked to his companion to make sure she'd understood.

"So nothing in that universe really changed?" She clarified, needing to make sure.

"No, I told you, it's like a game resetting itself. If there's something in that universe that shouldn't exist or for some reason has gone wrong, it'll be set right. Haven't I mentioned before that the universe always has a way of correcting itself?"

"I dunno," Martha shrugged. She tried to keep up with his ramblings, but sometimes things slipped past her. He could have easily mentioned it before and she'd just missed it. Then a new thought struck her.

"Wait a minute. Rose shouldn't exist in that other world, right? So if you managed to get her universe to 'reset'…" Martha trailed off, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor.

"I thought of that," he admitted glumly. "Problem is, every choice creates a parallel universe. _Every. Single. Choice. _That's trillions of billions of universes- it's beyond the imagination! I'd have to know the exact choice that created her universe, and…" he took a deep breath before saying, "I don't."

"Oh," Martha said, looking over at the boy who was now trying to fish his ball out of the pond. "I see." She _did _see. She saw the sheer odds against something like that happening, and she saw why it was a pointless cause.

She also saw that she was living in the shadow of a girl trapped an entire universe away. And she wasn't sure she was ever going to be able to escape it.

* * *

Neither the tall man nor the dark-skinned girl could see the universe with Rose Tyler in it. If they had, they might have left the chip shop thinking very different things. As it was, they couldn't see.

So they left, not knowing that worlds away, Rose Tyler's universe was resetting itself.


	2. Resetting Universes and Other Woes

**A/N: Wow :) Thanks so much for all the support! Hope you enjoy the chapter- two down, three to go! **

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

"Rose Tyler to the main office," crackled the female voice over the intercom. The blonde in question immediately stood up and stretched her cramped muscles. Then, with a sigh, she began sliding her paperwork into the vanilla folder on her messy desk. She enjoyed the fieldwork that came with working at Torchwood; the paperwork, however, was a different story.

"Rose Tyler to the main office," repeated the intercom, and Rose spared it an irritated glance. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she muttered, leaving her office with another sigh. It had been a long day, and the twenty-one year old Tyler was ready to head home. The last thing she needed was a surprise meeting with her boss.

Walking down the hall, she glanced at her co-worker's closed doors. _They _were home already, making Rose one of the last employees to leave the building, like always. As one of the more experienced Torchwood workers, the blonde often had more work on her plate then other employees her age. That wasn't to say she was perfect- she'd made her fair share of mistakes in this new universe- but her experience in the field far surpassed most of her coworkers and gave her a respected reputation (a reputation Rose herself was ignorant of).

Just as the blonde reached the heavy oak doors that marked the head of her branch's department, a flash of light filled the room, blinding her. She stumbled back, blinking the spots away and struggling to see. As her vision slowly returned to normal, the Tyler quickly spun around, looking for alien threats. To her surprise, nothing looked out of order. Everything was exactly as it had been before the bright light, down to the last speck of dust on the windowsill.

"Excuse me, miss, can I help you?" Asked a familiar voice. Rose turned to see the secretary walking toward her, a stack of papers in one hand in a gun in the other. It was the weapon that caught the blonde's attention- although the gun wasn't aimed at her, Rose knew that Brooke detested all weapons after losing her father to a stray Dalek that had crept through the void.

"Brooke? Did you see that light?" Rose asked, still eyeing the gun in confusion.

"Miss, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the secretary insisted. "We're closing down for the night."

"I thought you hated guns, yeah?" Rose pressed, feeling uneasy. Why was her friend looking at her like she'd never seen her before in her life?

"Really, ma'am, I'm afraid-"

"Ma'am?" Rose echoed, beyond confused and a little hurt. "Brooke, it's me! Rose Tyler!" Now the brunette secretary looked confused.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tyler, but I think you've mistaken me for someone else," she said. "I never forget a face, and yours isn't ringing a bell."

"Brooke, it's _me_. Pete and Jackie's daughter? I _work _here?" Rose said desperately, scared despite herself. "If this is some sort of joke, it isn't funny!"

"You work here, you said?" Brooke repeated, opening the folder she held with one hand. "One minute. I have a list of our employees. What did you say your name was?"

"Rose Tyler," the blonde told her in disbelief. How had her friend just _forgotten_ about her?

"Rose Tyler…" The brunette echoed, running one finger down a long list of names.

"Should be right under Rita Taylor and right above Ryan Tyron," Rose put in helpfully, having seen the list several times herself.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tyler, your name isn't on here. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Brooke said firmly, having made up her mind the blonde before her had no business in Torchwood's headquarters.

"_What_? Not _on there_?" Rose echoed, shocked. "Can I see?" After a moment's hesitation, Brooke passed her the list. It only took Rose a few moments to find Rita and Ryan's names. Her name wasn't between them.

"I don't understand," Rose said numbly. According to both the list and Brooke, she'd never worked at Torchwood. Rose's hand moved for her wallet almost on its own; suddenly the blonde needed to see her name on _something_, like it was supposed to be. Opening her wallet, she reached for her driver's license, only to find that it wasn't there. Her license, her credit cards, even her money- it had all vanished.

"But…" Rose trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. How do you convince someone you belong when all the evidence (or lack of it) says you don't?

"Miss Tyler, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Brooke repeated, her tone firmer this time. The blonde didn't respond, her mind racing a mile a minute. _My things are vanishing. My name is gone. It's like I don't exist. What on earth could make that happen? It doesn't make sense! _

"Miss Tyler," the secretary snapped, losing patience. "This way, please." With a start, Rose realized Brooke had raised her gun and was now pointing it at her. _She hates guns_, Rose thought weakly, her legs moving on their own accord down the hall. Somehow, she doubted pointing that out would help.

As she neared the exit, Rose glanced over at her office, just off to the side. She'd left the door open, but now she wished she hadn't. Beyond the door, Rose's office had vanished. In its place was a supply closet, looking exactly as it had before Rose had come and remodeled it. The blonde felt like she was going to be sick- taking down a powerful alien bent on destroying man kind? Easy. But having all evidence of her existence vanish? That was an entirely different story, and for once Rose wasn't sure what to do. How can you fight something that isn't there?

"Brookie!" Grinned a middle-aged man as they reached the lobby. Rose could only stare in surprise as Brooke broke away from the 'intruder' to give the man a hug. She recognized him- Brooke had shown her pictures, and there was no doubt in Rose's mind this man was Brooke's dad.

_You're dead. You're supposed to be dead! _Rose cried mentally, although she didn't say anything out loud. It made sense. No wonder Brooke had no trouble holding a gun. For some reason, her dad was alive and well. The blonde wanted to be happy for her friend, but she knew it was _wrong. _Her dad had died. She knew from experience you couldn't just bring people back from the dead.

"Who's this?" The man asked, gesturing vaguely to Rose.

"Oh, right," Brooke said, as if just now remembering the blonde was there. "I'll be just a second, Dad. Then we can go catch dinner, yeah?"

"Sounds good," the man agreed amiably. The brunette secretary turned back to Rose, leading her to the glass double doors.

"Good night," she said politely, her voice void of its usual warmth. It was a voice reserved for strangers and aliens, and it made Rose feel sick.

"'Night," she managed, leaving the building and stepping into the fall air. Unusually she'd watch the leaves fall, enjoying the beautiful season, but not tonight. She had to get home.

As if on cue, her phone began to ring. Pulling it from her jacket pocket, Rose was relieved to see 'Mum' on the screen. She answered immediately.

"Mum? You alright?" She said quickly, pressing the phone to her ear as she walked toward the parking lot.

"Oh, Rose! Thank goodness you're ok!" Jackie said, relief evident in her voice. "I dunno what happened! There was this light, sweetheart, and suddenly all my stuff is gone! I can't find the keys to the house, my car is gone, and the lady from the coffee shop doesn't recognize me!" Jackie's voice got higher and higher as she got more distressed, and Rose was quick to jump in the moment she stopped for breath.

"I know, mum, the same thing jus' happened to me," she soothed. "They're sayin' I don't even work at Torchwood anymore!"

"Sweetheart, you get home as soon as you can, you hear? We'll find your father and work it all out, yeah?" Jackie insisted.

"Yeah, mum," Rose agreed, stopping as she reached the parking lot. "Might be a while, though," she added, staring at the empty spot. "My car is gone, too."

* * *

"Mum?" Rose called, walking up the long driveway to where Jackie was arguing with one of the maids. As she got closer, snippets of their conversation floated through the crisp fall air to her.

"Whadda you mean, Pete's single? He's married to me!" Jackie argued, looking ready to deliver a slap to the terrified maid.

"Ma'am, Mr. Tyler lost his wife to the metal men years ago," the maid insisted, looking around as if trying to find help. Catching sight of Rose, Jackie immediately brightened as her daughter walked up.

"Rose, tell 'er that we're Pete's family!" Jackie cried, throwing a glare at the maid as if to say, _this'll show you! _

"Pete's my dad," Rose agreed, although she already had a bad feeling the maid wouldn't know what she was talking about.

A moment later, she proved Rose right, saying, "Mr. Tyler doesn't have any kids, ma'am." Jackie looked furious.

"Don't be daft, of course he does! She's his eldest! And he's got a son on the way!" She snapped, patting her pregnant stomach in proof. "Now are you going to let us in, or are we gonna have ta force our way in?"

"Mum," Rose warned.

"I'm calling the cops," the maid said in an unsteady voice, grabbing her cell phone and pulling it out of her pocket.

"You can bloody go ahead," Jackie shot back. "They'll tell you!"

"_Mum_," Rose repeated, a little louder this time. Jackie seemed not to hear.

_Beep-beep-beep_. The maid hesitated, her thumb just over the 'call' button. Rose closed her eyes and was wondering what prison food would taste like, when a new voice cut through the air.

"Jacks! Rose! Thank God!" Pete cried, jumping out of his car and running toward his wife and daughter. They'd been so busy arguing with the maid, they hadn't noticed the man was home.

"I told you," Jackie snapped at the maid, before turning to embrace her husband. The maid, stunned, slowly closed her phone and slipped it back into her pocket.

"You remember us," Rose said, not bothering to hide her relief. Pete seemed to know what she was talking about.

"'Course I do," he assured her. "But when I went down to the Chinese place to grab dinner, Marcus commented that it was a lot of food for a single man." His shock would have been almost comical in any other situation; Marcus, a close family friend, forgetting about Jackie and Rose? Who would've guessed?

"Well, let us in, then," Jackie said, although Rose detected relief in her mum's voice also. "My keys have gone and vanished, and Rose's too." Pete, looking troubled, unlocked the door and let his family in, scanning the house warily as if expecting an alien to jump out of nowhere and snatch his family away.

No alien appeared. A quick look around the house did, however, reveal that all of Jackie and Rose's things had vanished like their cars and keys. Pete, upset, had tried to call the police, only to hang up when they'd informed him they had no record of his wife and daughter.

"Dad?" Called Rose, walking into the kitchen where her father had just hung up the phone. "Grab your laptop, yeah? We should search Torchwood files, see if there's any mention of this stuff."

"Brilliant idea, Rose," Pete beamed, proud despite his worry, as he ran up the stairs to his bedroom where Jackie was staring at her empty closet forlornly.

"Gone, all gone," she moaned, gesturing to the half-empty room. "It's like I was never here!"

"C'mon, Jacks," Pete said gently, leading his wife away from the room before dashing back in to grab his laptop. He followed his wife downstairs all too eagerly; every empty spot where his family's things should have been seemed to mock him, daring him to solve an unsolvable mystery.

Downstairs, he plugged in his laptop and powered it up. His screen glowed to life, and Pete quickly opened the internet browser to hide his screensaver. Rose and Jackie saw it anyway, though- the picture had been a family portrait of sorts. Now, however, Jackie and her daughter had been erased from even that, so that only Pete was featured in the lonely image. Behind Rose, Jackie choked back a sob.

The Torchwood screen appeared, and Pete quickly typed in the password. The lock screen was quickly replaced by long lists of files and numbers that scrolled across the screen at impossible speeds.

"Let's see…" Pete muttered as he opened file after file. "Maybe this one?" Just as he opened the file, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Rose volunteered, glad to escape the almost stifling room. She all but ran to the door, throwing it open to reveal a very concerned looking Mickey.

"Mickey!" She cried, giving him a hug.

"Rose! Why doesn't anyone remember me?" He asked, looking worried. "And my things, they've all-"

"Vanished?" Rose guessed. Mickey's surprised expression was all the confirmation she needed. "Come in," she said, opening the door wider to allow her ex-boyfriend access to her house. "We've got the same problem, me and mum. Not even the staff remembers us, and Brooke insisted that I didn't work at Torchwood today."

"Is this some alien threat?" Mickey asked, familiar with Rose's jeopardy friendly life style.

"I don't know," the blonde admitted. "I'll bet anything it has something to do with that light I saw earlier, though."

"You saw it too?" Mickey asked, sounding relieved. "No one else seems to have noticed. I thought I was becoming a nutter!"

"No crazier than us, Mick," Rose grinned.

"Great," the man moaned. "I am a nutter!"

"Oi! I'll have you know-" Whatever Rose was going to say was cut off by Pete, who's voice suddenly echoed down the hallway.

"I found it!" He cried, excited. Rose quickly turned on her heel, running down the hallway and ignoring Mickey's confused "found what?" A moment later, footsteps told Rose he'd followed her.

"Hello, Mickey," Jackie said, giving Rose's friend a small smile. "Glad to see you still remember us, then."

"Who could forget you?" Mickey grinned back, before turning to Pete. "What'd you find?" He asked again.

"Answers," the tall man answered cryptically, worry clear on his face. "And they aren't pretty." At his family's (plus one friend's) cries of "Get on with it, then!", Pete elaborated.

"The universe is, according to this, 'correcting itself.'" Pete explained, glancing back at his computer files. "This universe was created as a result of your universe, right?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "All parallel universes are created by choices, or something like that. This one was like a kid playing kick, right?"

"Right," Pete nodded, looking a bit uncomfortable. Rose and Jackie didn't meet his gaze- as a family, they didn't like to talk about their differences in origin. "Anyway, something must have happened to this kid so that he never got the choice to kick the ball. However, the end result was still the same… so… our universe is… correcting itself now."

"Like, restarting?" Rose asked, sounding worried as what Pete was implying hit her. "But, we don't belong here. What's gonna happen to us?"

"I don't know," Pete admitted. "This kind of thing has never happened before." His concern was evident in his eyes and voice, although he tried to hide it for the sake of his family.

"Are we jus' gonna disappear?" Mickey asked, speaking what was on everyone's mind.

"It's a possibility," Pete admitted, looking like he might be sick.

"How come you remember us, then?" Rose asked finally, trying to divert everyone's attention away from the ominous chance of becoming nonexistent.

"I think," Pete said slowly, glancing at Jackie. "It's because of the baby."

"What does the baby have to do with all this?" Jackie snapped, placing a protective hand on her swollen middle.

"The baby exists because of us, right? Two people from different universes?" Pete clarified, sounding uncertain. "I think maybe I'm in the same boat as you."

"You mean you're gonna disappear, too?" Rose gulped.

"Maybe," Pete said softly. "I don't think this universe knows what to do with me. It can't get rid of the baby, because one person makes more of a difference than anything else. That's too drastic. But if Jackie just vanishes…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "I dunno. There's something we're missing here…"

"You think?" Jackie snapped, her fear and uncertainty making her lash out.

"Mum? Why don't you go put the kettle on?" Rose suggested, trying to pacify her frightened mother. "I could do with a nice cuppa, yeah?"

Most people would look at Rose and say something along the lines of, _are you crazy? We might DIE and you want tea?!_ However, Jackie was not most people. She valued familiar routines and the comfort of normality. So, just like Rose knew she would, she nodded and hurried off to the kitchen to make tea.

"Is there any way to reverse this?" Mickey asked in an almost pleading tone as he turned back to Pete. "Anything we can do to fix things?"

"Fix things?" Pete echoed, shaking his head. "The universe is already 'fixing things'. Problem is, it's doing too good a job."

"You belong here," Mickey pointed out again. Pete winced slightly at the reminder.

"Yeah… obviously there was a blip in the system," he offered lamely, standing up. "I'm gunna go calm down your mum Rose," he added over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen.

"Wonderful," Rose muttered, sitting down on the hard wicker chair with a _thump_.

"Yeah," her dark-skinned friend echoed. "Do you think it's gunna hurt? Not existing, I mean." Rose shot a glare at Mickey.

"Not helping, Mick."

"Sorry," Mickey said, having the decency to look properly chastened. From the kitchen, Pete's voice just penetrated the walls, where he was urging Jackie to calm down and promising not to let anything split up their family.

Both Mickey and Rose knew it was a promise he couldn't keep, and the knowledge seemed to add a chill to the air, a thick fear and feeling of ominous doom. Suddenly a scream split through the heavy air, shocking both Torchwood agents (or ex-Torchwood agents) to action.

"What's wrong?" Rose cried, running through the kitchen door and ready for action. What she saw made her stop cold.

Jackie was fading. _Jackie was fading. _

"Mum!" She cried, running to her hysterical mother's side.

"Jacks, stay calm," Pete said desperately, looking around as if trying to find something that could stop his wife from vanishing.

"Oh my God!" Jackie sobbed, looking at the back of her transparent hand.

"Mum, it's ok, you're gunna be fine," Rose lied frantically.

"I love you, sweetheart. Don't forget-" they never got to hear the end of the Tyler woman's sentence. She'd disappeared.

"MUM!" Rose cried again, tears running down her face unheeded. "No, no, this can't be happening!"

"Rose," Pete said in a choked voice. Rose spun around to find, to her horror, she could see through her other parent as easily as one looks through a stain-glass window.

"No, not you too!" She sobbed, running to her dad and flinging her arms around him in a desperate hug, as if that could keep him in this universe with her. Seconds later, she was holding nothing but air.

"_No!_" The blonde screamed, her lungs burning for air that didn't seem to want to come. She hadn't been trapped here only to lose everything, she couldn't have, it wasn't fair! From behind her, Mickey walked up and she turned toward him.

"Don't you _dare _vanish on me, too," she choked through her tears.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Mickey soothed, pulling her into a hug. He was shaken, but still solid, so Rose clung to her friend like a drowning woman in the middle of the ocean.

"Liar," she managed, sobbing into his shoulder. She shook with tears, crying so hard she couldn't breathe. She cried like she'd never cried before and never would again- cried in the manner of a young woman who'd watched her family fade from existence and been unable to stop it.

"Rose," Mickey said softly a few minutes later, and Rose blinked through her tear to find even he was now fading.

"Don't go," she whimpered, all her strength gone.

"I'm sorry, Rose."

And the blonde was alone. Slowly she slid down the wall to the floor, tilting her head back against the hard wall and letting her eyes slide shut. The tears still poured down her face, but now she was silent. She refused to die screaming at air. She would disappear as if she hadn't lost everything.

_First the Doctor, _she thought, wondering if the wall behind her really felt less solid, or if it was just her imagination. _And now Mickey, Mum, and Dad. Is this what it feels like to give up? _

Cracking her eyes, she looked down at her arm. It hadn't been her imagination- she was starting to disappear. She was too tired now to even cry, and too dignified to try.

_Yes, _she decided, closing her eyes again. _This is what it feels like to give up. _

A moment later, the kitchen was empty, as if the Tylers and Mickey had never existed. The universe they'd lived in knew no different.

* * *

**Feedback is love... review please?  
**


	3. Misplaced Travelers

**A/N: Happy MLK Day :) Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

"And that, Martha Jones, is why you should always take a banana to a party," the Doctor finished as he strolled along. Martha resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she never would have mentioned the godforsaken fruit if she'd known she was going to get a lecture. Who would have guessed that an all-powerful Time Lord would have a banana fetish?

_At least he's in better spirits now, _said a small voice in the back of her head. It was true- Rose and her parallel prison was a topic that had stayed back at the chip shop. Once they'd left, the Doctor had eagerly jumped tracks and begun to ramble on about a fancy something-or-other that had been way out of Martha's (or any human's) range of understanding. (Part of her suspected he was just making up terms as he went along; the other part was wary of risking another lecture by testing his theory.)

"_Doctor?_" Gasped an unfamiliar voice. Martha turned to see a young man stumbling out of an ally-like road that branched off near a small section of slightly run-down looking estates. Martha didn't recognize him, but judging by the Doctor's shocked face, the Time Lord did.

"_Mickey?_" The Doctor asked, looking like he'd just been told the sky was green and up was down. "But you're- that's impossible- you can't- _how?_" The dark-skinned man- Mickey-looked just as confused as the Doctor.

"But… I'm not dead?" He asked, sounding completely baffled.

"Dead?" Parroted Martha's companion, looking horrified. "What happened?"

"I'm not dead," Mickey said again slowly, seeming not to hear. A smile spread across his face and he let out a whoop as the thought seemed to sink in. "Yes! I'm not dead!"

"Who's this?" Martha asked the Doctor under her breath, examining the man before her. For someone who seemed to think he'd just escaped death, he didn't look like it. His clothes weren't torn or bloody, like one might expect after a life-or-death experience (although they were a bit dusty, like he'd been lying on the ground). He seemed a bit shaky, but it was hard to tell. He wasn't breathing hard, so Martha doubted he'd been running. Overall, Martha thought he seemed a bit dazed.

"Mickey, what are you talking about? What's going on?" The Doctor asked seriously, staring intently at the elated man as if he could force the answers from him by sheer will.

"I faded," Mickey explained, as if that should explain everything. "I faded, an' I thought I was gonna die, but I didn't! I'm alive!"

"You… faded?" The Doctor echoed, his confusion deepening.

"Yup," Mickey nodded, popping the 'p'. "So did Jackie and Pete- Jackie and Pete! Are they here too?"

"Jackie and Pete? _What?_" The Doctor cried, his confusion turning to complete and utter bewilderment.

"Doctor, who is this?" Martha asked again, grabbing his arm with one hand to get his attention.

"Huh?" He asked, seeming to remember her for the first time. "Oh, right. Martha, meet Mickey. He was Rose's boyfriend, before he got trapped in the same parallel universe as Rose did later on. Mickey, meet Martha Jones. She's my new companion."

"You replaced Rose?" Mickey asked, sounding shocked as he swayed dangerously on his feet.

"Let's get you sitting down, Mickey Mick-Mick," The Doctor evaded, leading the dazed man to a nearby bench. "How are you feeling?" He asked once Mickey was settled.

"Tired," the man admitted, leaning back on the wooden seat gratefully.

"Now, why don't you start from the beginning and tell us what happened," the Doctor ordered, standing in front of Mickey and casting a rather ominous shadow behind him. Martha, shooting him a reproachful look, took a seat next to Mickey and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Tired, you said?" She asked gently, her medical training kicking in. "Are you feeling dizzy at all? Headache? Heart racing?"

"He's fine, Martha," the Doctor said dismissively, waving off the med student. "Travelling from universe to universe like that probably took a bit out of him- he might have even passed out- but he'll be fine."

"I could have told you that," Martha grumbled, looking pointedly at Mickey's dusty clothes and trying not to feel miffed at the way the Time Lord had cut her off.

"It's okay," Mickey assured her, as if he'd sensed her wounded pride. "He's always like this when Rose is involved." Faintly, Martha remembered the Doctor had mentioned Mickey being close to Rose, but she pushed the thought away. She didn't want to think about what Mickey's return could mean for her relationship (or lack of one) with the Doctor.

"So Rose is involved?" The Doctor interjected, tearing Martha from her tumbling emotions.

"Yeah," Mickey confirmed, although he sounded uncertain to Martha. "I mean, people were forgettin' about her too, so-"

"Forgetting about her?" The Doctor asked, an unrecognizable emotion flickering across his face for a brief moment. "Start from the beginning, Mick."

"Okay, okay," Mickey said, looking slightly irritated at being bossed around by the pin-stripe clad alien. "There was this bright light an' suddenly all our stuff was gone. Our cars, Ids, credit cards- everythin'. One of the Torchwood workers even kicked Rose out 'cuz she swore she didn't recognize her."

"A worker Rose knew well?" The Doctor inquired, raising one eyebrow.

"They were best mates," Mickey confirmed with a nod. "Anyway, it didn't just happen to her. No one recognized any of us."

"Who is us?"

"Jackie, Rose, and me," the dusty man clarified. "Like I was sayin', we all went to the Tyler's house an' Pete licked up this Torchwood file sayin' that-"

"Wait a minute, _Pete _remembered you? But no one else did?"

"Would you stop interrupting me?" Mickey snapped, looking irritated. "_Yes, _Pete remembered us. _No, _I don't know why!"

"Sorry," The Doctor said, not looking the least bit repentant. "You were saying?"

"Right. Well, Pete found something about our universe being created by a kid playing kick and somehow that choice had changed, or somethin', and now the whole universe was restartin' like a giant video game," Mickey said.

"It can't be," the Doctor murmured under his breath, his eyes flashing with hope he just managed to bury. Some removed part of Martha wanted to hate the universe, wanted to hate fate for its effects on this man; that even when the woman he- (here her thoughts skipped, in a sense, because she couldn't seem to finish the sentence, even in her own mind) that even when Rose might be returned to him he didn't dare to hope it might be true, because he'd lost so much in his life and gained so little.

It was sad, and Martha felt her heart ache for her friend. If Mickey saw the effect his words were having on the Doctor, he didn't show it. Instead, he kept talking, plowing straight on ahead.

"One by one, we started to vanish. First it was Jackie, then Pete, and then me. I thought I-"

"Was going to die," the Doctor finished, echoing the man's greeting words with understanding making its way across his face. "Perfectly normal assumption to make, really. Even people with a higher brain capacity than you would probably reach that conclusion."

"Oi!" Mickey cried indignantly, but the Doctor continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"As for Pete… is Jackie still pregnant?" He asked, and Mickey shot him a baffled look.

"What does-"

"Actually, never mind. Doesn't really matter if she's given birth or not," he mused, and Martha couldn't tell if he was speaking to Mickey or himself anymore. "She had or will have a baby, yeah? Pete's baby- at least, I hope it's Pete's baby. Otherwise-"

"Doctor," Martha chided.

"Right, moving on. So, Jackie and Pete have a baby or will have a baby. This kid's parents are from two different universes, so… how old is the baby?"

"Not born yet," Mickey answered, looking slightly dazed again, although Martha suspected this time it was because of the Doctor's ramblings.

"Still pregnant then, that makes sense. Mother belongs in other universe, unborn baby comes with her. But a mom who has a child with no dad- and I don't mean grows up without a dad, I mean literally has no dad, in all of time and space in this universe- is, technically speaking, not possible. So, the universe comes up with a compromise of sorts," the Doctor babbled on, moving his hands rapidly and pacing as he talked. "People over there still remember Pete, but he comes here with the baby and his wife. Perfect!"

"But…" Mickey stammered, as if trying to organize his thoughts into a coherent question. Martha knew the feeling. "What are people gonna think happened to Pete?"

"Kidnapped, murdered, something along those lines," the Doctor said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You humans come up with the most imaginative stories to explain away missing people." Mickey and Martha just stared at him. He didn't seem to notice.

"So the real question is… where's Rose? Why isn't she here with you?" He asked, sounding worried. "And, er, Jackie and Pete too, of course," he hastily added when Martha shot him a look. "Mick, any ideas as to how you ended up in this particular spot?"

"Uh…" Mickey stammered again, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Well, it's by where Rose used to live," he said finally. Martha was stunned. Turning back to look at the estates, she took in the graffiti-coated bricks, peeling paint, and cracked sidewalks. It wasn't the kind of place she imagined the infamous Rose Tyler living in.

"Rose used to live _here_?" She managed finally. The Doctor shot her a look.

"What's wrong with that?" He asked defensively, but before Martha could reply, Mickey jumped in.

"She didn't live here," he scoffed. "She grew up here, but after that she always lived on the TARDIS. If you asked her where home was now, she'd no doubt point at his little wooden box."

"Oi! She's bigger on the inside," the Doctor said absently, looking far too pleased (in Martha's opinion) at the idea of Rose considering the TARDIS her home.

"Yeah, yeah," Mickey muttered, rolling his eyes. "I know. I've seen the inside, remember? Once or twice, in all your swoopin' down to carry Rose off."

"Swooping down…" the Doctor muttered, looking back to the place Mickey had stumbled out of. "Mickey, that's it! You're brilliant!"

"Really?" Mickey asked, looking pleased (although Martha would bet he had no idea what he'd said that was so intelligent).

"Well, almost. Not as brilliant as me, but good for an ape," he said dismissively. He carried on before Mickey got a chance to sulk. "This is where I took Rose on board, right? For the first time, and all the other times when we visited her mum."

"You let her visit her mum?" Martha echoed, surprised and (if she was honest) a little jealous. "You never take me to visit my family."

"Rose is 'special'," Mickey whispered to her when the Doctor seemed oblivious to the accusation.

"Clearly," Martha muttered back, trying not to sound bitter.

"If you two are done chatting like teenagers, I'm being brilliant over here," the Doctor called. Both people seated on the bench looked over to him obediently. "So, Mickey, that big ally- or small road, whatever you want to call it- is important to you, yeah?"

"That's where you stole my girlfriend, mate," Mickey retorted dryly. "What do you think?"

"So, alternate universe deposits you in a place that is important to you, sticks out in your memories," the Doctor carried on, ignoring the other man's sarcasm. "But Rose wasn't there with you?"

"Nope."

"So what place is important to Rose?" He mused, and this time it was obvious he was talking to himself.

"What about her parents?" Martha prompted, trying to remind the Time Traveler that Rose wasn't the only newly transported person.

"Her parents! That's it!" He cried, his eyes lighting up. "The street corner!" And he was off, leaving Mickey and Martha in the dust.

"What happened at the street corner?" Martha asked, turning to Mickey curiously.

"That's where Rose lost her dad," Mickey explained. "He was killed in a hit-and-run. Well, her dad from this universe. She has a dad from the other universe that's alive, but still."

"Gotcha," Martha nodded. "Is he headed that way because he thinks her parents might be there, or because Rose might be there?" Mickey snorted.

"Because he thinks Jackie is there," he replied sarcastically. "No. He doesn't give us two looks most 'o the time. It's all 'bout Rose with him."

"Tell me about it," Martha laughed without any real humor.

"You a tin dog, too?"

"A what?" Martha echoed, confused. "A… dog?"

"Tin dog, the odd man out, the third wheel," the dark skinned man explained, looking at the distant form of the Doctor dashing away.

"Oh," the companion sighed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I know the feeling," Mickey said sympathetically. "He snatched up Rose an' she's barely looked my way since. I mean, we're still good mates, but…" he trailed off with a shrug.

"You feel like you should be happy for her?" Martha guessed, thinking about her own feelings for the alien and comparing them to Mickey's feeling toward his ex. "But you can't help but be jealous anyway?"

"I used to be jealous," Mickey admitted after a moment. "But Rose is better off with him. It hurt. But I want her to be happy," he added with a sigh, turning back to the woman next to him. "What 'bout you?"

Martha hesitated before answering. Her feelings were personal, but then again, Mickey had been honest with her. He deserved the truth in return. Besides, he might be the only person who would understand.

"Well, you're right when you say he only seems to see Rose," she said finally. Mickey shot her an understanding look.

"Is he comin' back?" She added quickly, glad to move away from her situation and gesturing to the three silhouettes moving back toward them.

"I think he is," Mickey agreed, squinting at the figures. As they got closer, their forms became clearer. The Doctor's lean frame was a tell-tale sign even from far away, and there was no mistaking him as he got closer, but the people staggering in exhaustion next to him were unfamiliar.

"Who's that with him?" Martha asked, studying the strangers. They appeared to be a middle aged couple (thirties? Early forties?) and although the man had a professional air with slightly thinning red-brown hair and a tall, slim frame, the woman would have stood out a mile away. She was a good foot or so shorter than the men next to her and had bright blonde hair pulled back messily in a scrunchy. Her vibrant pink track suit made her stand out even more, and she despite her obvious exhaustion, she carried herself with a dignified don't-mess-with-me air around her. Both the mysterious man and woman had grimy dust stuck to their sides and down their pant legs, like Mickey.

"That," Mickey replied as the Doctor and the two strangers reached the park bench, "is Jackie and Pete Tyler."

Martha didn't get a chance to respond; the woman- Jackie- spoke first.

"Where's Rose?" She asked, looking around. "I thought you said you'd found her!"

"I said I _would _find her," the Doctor corrected defensively. "I haven't yet."

"Bloody alien! Get out there and find my daughter!" Jackie screeched, raising one hand as if to smack the Time Traveler. Luckily for the terrified looking Time Lord, Pete grabbed Jackie's hand before she could deliver a brutal regeneration-worthy slap.

"Jackie! Jackie, it's ok," he soothed. "He'll find Rose. We'll all help. Split up?" He directed the last statement at a very relieved looking Doctor.

"Capital idea, Pete," the Doctor declared with his wide signature grin. "You and Jackie go check your old flat. I'm going to go look over by the London Eye- don't ask why, it's a long and frankly embarrassing story. Mickey Mick-Mick, you go by where that shop used to be, the one she worked at. Martha, you look at the places we might have missed. Things that could have been important before I came around, like the school building."

No questions were asked. The group split up quickly, and, after exchanging cell numbers first (to keep in touch, in case anyone found her), scattered in various directions. Soon only Martha was left, sitting alone on the bench, protests only half-formed and stuck in her throat.

_How should I know what was important to a woman I've never met? _She wondered helplessly.

"Wonderful," she muttered to no one. _Well, this is probably how you'll end up when this is all over. Alone, s_he thought ruefully, before pushing the thought aside. She was acting like an overdramatic, catty teenage girl. She was better than that, more mature, more dignified.

_Rose Tyler won't make me act like someone I'm not, _she decided firmly as she stood up, brushing off the seat of her jeans quickly. _I'm going to get through this with my head held high. _

And that little twinge of hurt she buried deep down… well, she told herself it wasn't jealously. Probably.

* * *

"What's back there?" Martha asked, motioning to a small door that looked unused.

"Oh, that," the teacher dismissed the door with a wave of her manicured hand. "No one's been in there since this building was converted into a High School last summer."

"This school's not even a year old?" Martha echoed aghast. She'd hoped maybe _this _would be Rose's old school, but yet again it seemed she was wrong. This was the fifth school she'd been to in the last hour, and her feet were starting to hurt from walking all over London. _How many schools could London have?! _

"That's right," the teacher nodded. "This building used to be a government building. No one's quite sure what it was used for- some sort of energy harnesser, I think."

"An energy harnesser?" Martha echoed, her attention re-captured.

"Yeah," the teacher bobbed her head again. "The ghosts? Little over a year ago?"

"That happened _here_?" Martha realized, turning back to the door. Alien tech- if that had been here, the Doctor had been here. And if he had been here, maybe Rose had been here. And if Rose had been here, maybe she had a memory of this place. It was a long shot, but it was worth checking out.

"Can I go in?" She asked. The other woman shrugged, unconcerned.

"Knock yourself out," she said, growing bored with the school's visitor. "Look, I really have to get back to my class, so-"

"Right, thanks for showing me around," Martha said with a wave of her hand as she tried the doorknob. (Thankfully, the door was unlocked.) The teacher, looking relieved, disappeared around the corner of the hallway and was quickly gone.

Stepping into the room, Martha scanned her dusty surroundings. She was in a rectangular white room that was completely empty of any furniture. There might have been some sort of office in the back, because there was a frame for a glass door, but the glass had long since been broken and cleared. Even though the room was lit only by the dim evening light filtering into the room, the white walls seemed to have an unreal faded glow, like a magnificent painting that had lost its color long ago.

Martha had assumed she was alone, but a faint cough quickly proved her wrong. With a jump, she turned to see a woman collapsed on the floor on the far side of the room, just in front of one of the broad, milky white walls. The woman, pushing herself up slightly on her elbows, coughed again, looking hazily at her surroundings.

"Who are you?" Martha blurted, staring at the woman. Hadn't the teacher said no one ever came in this room?

The dark skinned companion knew the answer before it left the other woman's mouth, but even so it made her heart stop.

"I'm Rose Tyler."


	4. The Reunion

**A/N: Thanks for all the support! :) Only one chapter left after this! Enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

"Oh my God," Martha breathed, staring at the girl. "I found you. I actually found you. Rose Tyler- you're…" she trailed off, trying not to stare at the legend before her. Rose Tyler didn't look like what she'd expected, that was for sure.

The Doctor had made Rose sound like a goddess or something; this woman looked on the verge of collapse (and that was quite something to pull off, considering she was already on the ground). Martha had imagined a model; this woman wore loose, comfortable clothes like she didn't really care what she looked like, as long as she looked decent. Martha had imagined the Tyler would be a natural beauty, cool and confident in every way; this woman, although pretty in her own way, wore too much makeup and her blonde, shoulder-length hair was almost definitely dyed.

"Who are you?" Rose managed, still looking dazed.

"Martha," the companion replied automatically, her mouth moving even while her mind reeled in shock. "Martha Jones."

"I disappeared, and Mum, and Mickey, and Dad…" Rose murmured, horror clear on her face as her memories came back to her. "Oh, my God, am I dead?"

"No, you're alive," Martha informed her, pulling out her phone. "One- one second," her voice faltered as she retreated to a far corner of the room, feeling weak as if she'd been through a great ordeal herself. For a moment, she just stared at her cell blankly.

_If I call Jackie, she'll come and she'll bring the Doctor. I'll lose him, I'll really lose him. He won't want me around anymore, not with Rose back. _She fretted, her resolution to let things fall where they may going out the window.

_You don't _have _to call them… _a possessive, jealous part of her whispered, and she immediately felt ashamed. This wasn't just about her- this girl had parents and friends. And the Doctor needed Rose back, Martha knew it. As much as it hurt her, she did care for the Doctor. And caring for someone meant doing what was best for them, even when it hurt.

Taking a deep breath, Martha dialed the number and pressed 'call'.

"Ello?" Jackie's voice cackled over the phone. "Martha? This you, sweetheart?" Martha winced slightly at Jackie's friendly term of endearment- it made her feel that much guiltier for contemplating not calling.

"Yes, Jackie, it's me," Martha replied, trying to sound cheerful. "I found her."

"You did?" Jackie cried, relief evident in her voice. "Oh, thank God! Pete, Martha found our daughter!" From the background, Martha faintly heard Pete give a sigh of relief. "Where is she? We'll find that bloody alien an' be there in no time!"

"I'm in the new High School, where the Battle of Canary Warf happened. Top floor, room with-"

"White walls, no furniture?" Jackie finished, her voice suddenly soft. "Of course. Can't believe I didn't think of that. We'll be there in a jiffy, sweetheart." Then, with a faint _click, _Jackie hung up. Martha slowly slid the cell phone back into her pocket, turning back to her competition- er, Rose.

The blonde woman had managed to get to her knees and, as Martha watched, stumbled to her feet, leaning heavily on the wall for support.

"You okay?" Martha asked, taking a hesitant step forward. She wasn't sure Rose would want her help, or if she really wanted to offer it, but the woman was clearly knackered and possible injured. It went against everything Martha had ever learned to let someone she could help struggle on their own.

"Fine," Rose gasped, turning her back to the wall and leaning on it heavily. "Just a bit tired, tha's all. Where are-" she broke off as she looked around her, her face grim. "Oh."

"Yeah," Martha said softly. "This is where you were separated from the Doctor, isn't it?" She suspected the truth as soon as she found out this was where the Battle of Canary Warf had taken place; Rose's expression only confirmed Martha's suspicion.

"How do you know the Doctor?" Rose asked, surprised, as she returned her focus to Martha. "I thought there weren't any time travelers in this universe."

"Not in that one, maybe," Martha shot Rose what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "This is your original universe. The other one, the parallel universe? It reset an' sent you back here."

Rose just gaped at Martha, too stunned to celebrate.

"Wha-?" She managed. "I'm… home?"

"That's right," Martha nodded, trying to ignore the bitter, metallic taste in her mouth. "The Doctor and your parents will be here in a minute. Mickey, too."

"You know Mickey and my parents?" Rose echoed. "An' the Doctor?"

"I'm his companion," Martha informed her. "Well, his new companion." It seemed to be too much for Rose to absorb at once. Slowly she slid back down the wall, until she was sitting on the ground again, leaning against the wall.

"I'm home," she muttered, almost in a daze. "I didn't die, I'm _home_."

Martha just nodded, growing uncomfortable. She was face-to-face with the woman she'd lived in the shadow of for what felt like forever, and… she felt like an imposter. Suddenly, she felt like she'd taken Rose's spot, tried to replace her. At least in another universe, Martha hadn't had a face to match with the name. Now she did, and she didn't like it.

This woman was so… ordinary, but that wasn't what really bothered Martha. She was also _real. _Not that Martha had doubted the blonde's existence or anything, but faced with the real deal, Martha's feelings for a certain time lord suddenly seemed small and futile.

"Oh God, what if he doesn't want me?" Rose gasped suddenly, looking panicked.

"Doesn't want you? The _Doctor?_" Martha echoed, surprised. "What?"

"He said it was impossible for me to come back," Rose explained, looking like she might be sick. "He'll have moved on. I mean, he's got you! He's not gonna want me!"

Martha almost laughed at the woman's irrational fear.

"Oh, trust me, he'll want you," she tried to assure the previous companion. "He talks about you all the time. Practically went mad when he found out you might be back, trying to figure out where you might be. Besides, you're all he talks about. He absolutely adores you, Rose, don't worry." Try as she might, Martha couldn't keep the bitter edge out of her voice. She hoped Rose wouldn't pick up on it, but unfortunately she did.

"You ok?" She asked gently.

"Yeah," Martha lied, trying to blink back tears. _Where did these come from? _She wondered in frustration, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand roughly.

Rose studied her, before understanding passed behind her eyes.

"Oh," she said softly. "I get it."

_You can't possibly understand, you can't possibly know, _Martha thought angrily. She didn't know if she was mad at Rose, or herself. She suspected it was the later.

"You know, I met a past companion once," Rose began, shifting slightly. "A woman named Sarah-Jane. She traveled with the Doctor before me, and we ran into her one day." Martha tried not to look surprised- she hadn't known Rose hadn't been the first, but it made sense.

"I was so _jealous_," Rose laughed at the memory, almost smiling, although Martha had no idea why. "I thought the Doctor didn't really care about me, jus' wanted someone to show off to. Oh, it hurt."

"What happened?" Martha asked, curious despite herself.

"We became friends," Rose smiled. "The Doctor doesn't deserve to be alone, Martha. I'm glad I met Sarah-Jane, or I never would have learned that."

Martha suddenly felt defensive; she didn't want the Doctor to be alone, either! _That's not the same thing, _she thought, trying to push down her upset, tumbling emotions. _Sarah-Jane never made a move on the Doctor, did she? _

"Another time, we met this woman named Reinette," Rose said, quieter this time. She wasn't smiling anymore. "He abandoned me an' Mickey on a spaceship thousands of years in the future to save her, with no way back. I'm pretty sure he loved her." Rose trailed off, raw pain in her voice. "That _still _hurts."

"He found a way back, though," Martha prompted.

"Yes," Rose admitted, looking up at Martha from her seat on the floor. "I knew he would. What hurt was watching him love someone else. I know the feeling, Martha. It's ok," she offered her a small smile.

"I don't…" Martha trailed off. What was the point in lying? Rose had read her like a book. Besides… maybe Rose _did _understand. Maybe she was the only one who'd be able to help, ironic as it was.

"How did you deal with it?" She asked instead, walking over and sitting next to Rose on the floor.

"I dunno," Rose admitted after a moment, raising one shoulder in a half-shrug. "I jus' kinda kept movin', I guess. Tha's what you do when you love someone. You're there for them through the good stuff an' the bad stuff, right?"

"Right," Martha echoed. "Well, you don't need to be jealous of Reinette. The Doctor cares about you, Rose, I'm positive of it."

"He cares about everybody," the blonde evaded. Martha fixed her with a piercing stare.

"You know what I mean."

"Mm," Rose hummed, not meeting Martha's gaze. "I dunno. I told him I loved him, once. He never got a chance to say it back."

"You're joking," Martha said, moving back to get a better look at Rose. The other woman gave a small laugh at Martha's incredulity, but shook her head in confirmation.

"No, I'm not. After I was trapped, he found one last way to send a message through, jus' for a few moments, and I told him I loved him."

"What'd he say?" Martha asked, her full attention on Rose. The blonde was so _easy _to talk to, so _understanding, _the dark-skinned woman had almost forgotten that she was supposed to be jealous of her.

"He said 'Rose Tyler'." Rose said seriously. "And then he ran out of time and disappeared."

"You're _joking_," Martha said again in disbelief. "_He. Did. Not._"

"He did," Rose said, laughing at Martha's expression. "Vanished right in front of me."

"Rose- that's- that's-" Martha broke off, failing to find an adequate word and instead making vague, frustrated gestures with her hands. "I mean-!"

"I know," Rose laughed again. "Tell me about it."

"Bloody alien," Martha mumbled.

"He's daft, all right," Rose agreed, grinning.

"Who's daft?" Called a familiar voice. Standing in the doorway was the Doctor with his wide, cheerful grin. Behind him was Jackie, Pete, and Mickey, but Rose seemed only to see the alien in front of her.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, jumping to her feet before faltering dangerously, like she might fall.

"Careful," the Doctor warned, by her side in an instant. Rose immediately threw her arms around him in a somewhat desperate hug, like he might disappear again. The Doctor didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the slim woman, hugging her so tightly to him Martha was surprised the blonde could breathe. As it was, she didn't protest.

"God, I missed you so much," the Doctor murmured, closing his eyes as if simply relishing the fact he had Rose in his arms again, safe and alive and in one piece and _with him. _

"Me too," Rose said with a watery laugh, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Martha edged away from the reunited couple, suddenly feeling like she was intruding a private, personal moment.

"Ello, again," whispered Mickey, tearing his eyes from the reunion before them. "You alright?"

_Am I alright? _Martha wondered, looking back at the Doctor and Rose. As she watched, the Doctor mumbled something in Rose's ear and then they were kissing, as if they didn't have a care in the world. They seemed to have forgotten there was anyone else in the room at all.

Martha saw all this, but her thoughts were on Mickey, and how he'd gotten over Rose, and how Rose had dealt with Sarah-Jane and Reinette. _Especially _Reinette. It hurt, seeing the Doctor with someone else, but Martha was strong. She was still unsure about her place now that Rose was back, but she was still friend with the Doctor. He wouldn't just turn her out in the cold. Rose and Mickey had known when to move on, and when to fight. Martha knew what she had to do, too.

"Yeah," she said, smiling at Mickey. "I'm fine."

And it was the truth.

* * *

**This chapter, for some reason, was really hard for me, so please leave me a review and let me know how I did. Only one chapter left! (Warning: the last chapter will have Ten/Rose fluff. You've been warned.) **


	5. The Aftermath

**A/N: So, I mentioned Reinette in the last chapter very, very briefly and got some responses I'd like to address quickly- I'll try to keep this short. One person didn't like that I implied a Reinette/Ten relationship, and another didn't like that I was "hating" on Reinette. Now, do I like Reinette? **_**No. **_**I was not trying to imply a Reinette/Ten relationship in any way, shape, or form. **_**However,**_** this is **_**not **_**a Reinette-bashing story. If I ever write a story like that, it will be appropriately labeled. The bits mentioned in the last chapter were just how I thought Rose would remember Reinette, and how Martha would take the story. That's all. **

**Anyway, thanks for all the support, guys! :) Enjoy the last chapter! **

* * *

Chapter 5 

* * *

_2:36 AM_. Rose moaned, rolling away from the clock and the little red digits she'd been peering at. After all that had happened, she should have been able to sleep. She should have been asleep hours ago (at least, that's what she kept telling herself) but her mind refused to quiet down and let her slip off into dreamland.

She rolled onto her back, kicking the covers away as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. It wasn't her room from her mom's old flat, but her old room on the TARDIS, all pink and yellow and looking as if she'd never left.

_He brought me back to the TARDIS, _the blonde thought to herself as she stared at the plain, flat roof. _He must want me around… right? _Try as she might, the blonde couldn't quite convince herself that it was true. After all, he'd brought _everyone _back to the TARDIS- her mum, dad, even Mickey- not just her. He'd told her that it was because they were technically "dead" and couldn't just wonder around with no home (Jackie's old flat had long since been sold) and no money, and that they'd sort it out in the morning, but Rose still worried.

_What if he's gonna drop me off with my family, too? He's got a new companion, he doesn't need me anymore. _

Maybe she was being paranoid, but to Rose, it felt like Martha had taken her spot. Not that she blamed Martha- she liked the other woman, honest- but it left her feeling like a lost child, not sure where to be. And despite Martha's reassurances that blonde had nothing to fear ("I should be the one worrying, not you, Rose!") the previous companion still felt uneasy.

Rolling back over to face the clock on her bedside table, Rose once again squinted in the dark to read the little numbers.

_2:40 AM. _

_Right, _Rose decided, sitting up and sliding her feet into her slippers. _This isn't working. Maybe some tea will help. _Grabbing her robe, she slid out of her room, walking blindly down the hallway toward the kitchen, the soft pad of her slippers quiet in the still night.

Once she reached the kitchen, she was surprised to see light spilling from the doorway and out onto the hallway floor.

_Is someone else up? _She wondered, pulling on her robe and walking into the brightly lit room. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the harsh light after the dim shadows she'd spent hours tossing and turning in, so at first she couldn't see anything. Blinking away the glare, her eyes finally focused on a tall, lean figure that was sitting at the table, facing away from her.

_Doctor? _Rose wondered, confused. She knew the Time Lord didn't need much sleep, but even he had seemed knackered by the time they'd reached the TARDIS.

"You shouldn't be up, Martha. It's late. Go back to bed," the Doctor said in a monotone, not turning to face Rose.

"If I see her up, I'll tell her you said so," the blonde returned lightly, moving past the Doctor into the kitchen. From behind her in his seat, the Doctor blinked in surprise.

"Rose?" He asked, sitting up straighter so he no longer slouched against the back of his chair. "What are you doing up?"

"I could say the same thing to you," Rose quipped, hoping to avoid the question.

"Time Lord," the Doctor shot back smugly. "I don't sleep my life away, unlike some apes I could mention…"

"What's wrong?" Rose asked abruptly, turning from the kettle to face him and crossing her arms.

"Who said anything was wrong?"

"You're insulting species again. You only do that when you're upset," the blonde informed him, giving him a look that told him under no circumstances would he be able to dodge the question.

"Oh," the Doctor said, thinking. "So I do. How about that."

"So, what's wrong?" Rose asked, more gently this time, as she poured herself a cup of tea.

"Why are you up?" The Doctor shot back.

"Couldn't sleep," Rose admitted, grabbing a second mug. "Want some?"

"Couldn't sleep as in wide-awake, or couldn't sleep as in, nightmares?" He pressed, ignoring Rose's questions.

"Does it matter?" The blonde sighed, pouring him a cup of tea anyway.

"It does if you're having nightmares," the alien told her matter-of-factly.

"I'm not," she assured him, grabbing the steaming mugs and walking over to the table. "I just… couldn't sleep. I have a lot on my mind, I guess." Passing him his mug, she sat down in the chair next to him, watching the steam curl around her chipped cup.

"Thanks," the Doctor mumbled, wrapping his hands around his own steaming mug. "Me, too."

"Huh?"

"I have a lot on my mind," the Doctor clarified, leaning back in his chair. Rose nodded, looking down at the swirling liquid in front of her. She didn't ask what was bothering the Doctor; he'd tell her in his own time. He always did.

_He always used to. Maybe he doesn't, now, _persisted that pessimistic voice in the back of Rose's mind. She gulped, trying to push away the fear that too much had changed, but couldn't. If anything, the voice just seemed to get louder.

_He has Martha now, _the voice continued.

_I know, _the hopeful part of Rose argued back. _But that doesn't mean he doesn't want me around. _

_ Then ask him, _the doubts seemed to dare. _Or are you too afraid he doesn't need you anymore? _

Rose watched the steam swirl up in the still, silent air, trying to come up with a good reason why she wouldn't ask, _besides _her fears. After several long moments, she had to admit she couldn't.

"What did you think of Martha?" The Doctor asked finally, blowing the steam off his tea and taking a hesitant sip. Finding it to have cooled down enough to drink, he took another sip before continuing, "She's a good companion."

"I'll bet she is," Rose agreed, feeling an uneasy knot form in the pit of her stomach. "I think she's brilliant."

"She is brilliant," The Doctor nodded. Rose's gut twisted uneasily at the praise. _What if she really has replaced you once and for all? _

"How long has she been with you?"

"Oh, not long," the alien shrugged. "Less than a year." Rose nodded, taking a sip of her own tea and placing the mug back down when she found it to be, unlike the Doctor's, too hot to drink.

"Is that what you were thinking about? Martha?" Rose asked, trying (and failing) to sound like it didn't matter. Not that she was jealous- she wasn't. Just afraid.

"Mm, not so much about Martha as companions in general," the Doctor admitted, somewhat evasively. Rose got the feeling he meant he'd been thinking about her- she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "You?"

"What a coincidence," The blonde smiled weakly. "I was thinking about the same thing."

"Great minds think alike," the Doctor quipped, and Rose gave him a real, tongue-between-the-teeth smile.

"You haven't changed much, have you?" She joked.

"Nope," the Doctor replied, popping the 'p'. "That wouldn't be fair to you, would it? How would we be able to pick up where we left off if I went and changed on you again?"

The statement in itself was casual, but Rose could hear a hidden question in the words: Pick up where we left off. _Come with me? _

"Well, I stuck with you through the first change," Rose smiled tenderly, giving him a slightly nervous look and hoping she hadn't misunderstood.

"Does that mean-"

"If you still want me," the blonde blurted out, biting her lip as if to stop more words from escaping without her permission.

"Fantastic," the Doctor gave her a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and Rose couldn't help but wonder if she'd imagined the relief in his voice. "That's bloody brilliant!"

"Good," Rose sighed happily, the knot of nerves and tension dissolving as she threaded her fingers through his. "I thought maybe you… well, you know-"

"I wouldn't want you around?" The Doctor finished, knitting his eyebrows together in concern. "Of course I do! What kind of Time Traveling alien just pops up and goes, 'Oh! Hello, there! Look, you're back! Okay, bye-bye!' I wouldn't leave something unfinished like that."

"And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it…" she quoted, raising one eyebrow doubtfully. "Rose Tyler.."

"Oi! Not fair," the Doctor complained. "I ran out of time! Besides, that wasn't unfinished. I told you back at the old Torchwood."

"Yeah, I suppose you did," Rose smiled, a warm feeling spreading through her as she remembered their reunion and the hastily whispered words in her ear.

"And after that, you still thought I was gonna drop you off in London?" He asked, sounding incredulous, although Rose could see a glimmer in his eyes that told her he was only teasing.

"Well, you have Martha now," the previous companion defended herself, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Martha's a great friend and a brilliant companion," the Doctor informed her seriously. "But she isn't you."

"What's gonna happen to Martha?" Rose asked, the warm feeling spreading all the way down to the tips of her toes at his declaration.

"Whatever she wants," the Doctor shrugged. "I'd like her to stay, but it's up to her."

"I'd like her to stay, too," Rose mused. "It would be nice to have another companion to complain to when you're being exceptionally dense."

"On the other hand, maybe she should take a few weeks off-" He broke off when Rose smacked his arm lightly.

"Rude," she chided, smiling.

"And not ginger!" The Doctor finished with a laugh.

"We're gonna be alright, aren't we," Rose grinned as the Doctor ran his thumb over her knuckles idly.

"Always," the Doctor smiled. "Stuff of legends, remember?"

"Shiver and shake," Rose teased, giving him her famous smile.

"Oncoming storm and the Bad Wolf," the lanky man replied, standing up. Rose stood up too, tossing her now-cold tea into the sink and letting it spiral down the drain.

"You know, I'm really glad you decided to alter that little boy's choice. Kicking the ball and all," Rose commented as she followed the Doctor to the edge of the kitchen, toward the door.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, me too," the Doctor agreed whole-heartedly. "I think we can all agree that sometimes it's better to unmake a choice than to let things be."

"Does this mean you're going back to your 'forever alone' policy?" Rose teased, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. His eyes widened in horror.

"What? Of course not!" He objected haughtily. "I never said _that_, thank you very much." Rose laughed, privately pleased. "There are some choices, some chances, worth taking," he added, pulling her in for a real kiss.

Rose couldn't agree more.

* * *

"_Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever."_

_-Kari Russell_

* * *

**Make my day and leave one last review, please?  
**


End file.
